As much as Fiona wanted to say she'd earned her way into a main event match for NMW, she was glad the women's side of the tournament would be opening the show, and not forced to wait all the way to the end. She was as prepared as she felt she could be, but confidence had proven to be elusive throughout the week. Tonight she'd be stepping into the ring for the fourth time in five weeks, against two of the toughest opponents she'd ever faced. Elina had fought through the same tally of matches, but Raven would be the freshest of the three, having breezed through the first round. Fiona had to hope Raven was feeling lingering effects from her battle against Isabella.

She walked in silence beside Kendra through the parking area, dressed casually in a pair of baggy olive cargo pants, a cropped white tank, and sneakers, comfortable in the warmth of the late August Chicago evening. Fiona was used to surprising the fans and beating the odds at this point, but tonight she knew she'd need to surprise herself as well. Her focus settled where it usually did, on giving the fans the best show possible, leaving everything in the ring, and letting the rest work itself out. In a weird way, she was less nervous for tonight than she had been the last two rounds. She'd already crushed the expectations coming into this tournament, so it felt like she was playing with house money at this point.

By chance, Fiona spotted Elina Zamora making her way in at the same time, and suddenly Fiona was quite glad she had Kendra with her. She didn't [i]think[/i] Elina would feel the need to ambush her before the match, but her record as a judge of character was less than perfect. Elina already had her gear on beneath a robe, and thankfully Uberto Cafrune was nowhere to be seen. Probably preparing for his own match.

"Elina," Fiona greeted, a little tersely, once it became clear that her rival was approaching her. "Congrats on making it this far. Ash and Ada were tough competition to go through." She meant it sincerely, too. Having watched both matches several times, Elina displayed remarkable toughness to be able to power through the offensives that were thrown at her.